Programming current stabilized electrical fuse programming circuit and method

• US 7,432,755 B1
• Filed: 12/03/2007
• Issued: 10/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marvell Asia Pte Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Byeongju, Kim, Deok-kee, Safran, John Matthew, Cho, Yongsang
• Primary Examiner(s): Wells; Kenneth B.
• Application Number:
  US11/949,426
• Time in Patent Office: 309 Days
• Field of Search: 327/525, 327/526, 365/225.7
• US Class Current: 327/525
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 17/18 Auxiliary circuits, e.g. for writing into memory

Abstract

An electrical fuse programming circuit and a method for programming an electrical fuse within the electrical fuse programming circuit use a programming circuit bus to which are electrically connected in parallel the electrical fuse and a bypass resistor. A current within the programming circuit bus is made to flow through the bypass resistor for a period of time sufficient to stabilize the current, and then sequentially and instantaneously switched to program the electrical fuse.

Claims

1. An electrical fuse programming circuit, comprising:

a first path including a bypass resistor in series with a first transistor, wherein the first path includes no fuse elements;

a second path, connected in parallel with said first path, including a fuse element in series with a second transistor; and

logic circuitry for causing current to sequentially and instantaneously flow through only the first path during a first time period and then flow through only the second path during a second time period immediately following said first time period.

2. A method for programming an electrical fuse, comprising:

causing a current to flow and stabilize for a first time period through only a first path including a bypass resistor in series with a first transistor, wherein the first path includes no fuse elements; and

causing said current to sequentially and instantaneously flow through only a second path for a second time period immediately following said first time period, said second path connected in parallel with said first path, and wherein the second path includes a fuse element in series with a second transistor.